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"This is stupid."

She ignored the complaint from her companion and teammate, and continued staring at the screen in front of her. Fox McCloud, leader of a ragtag group of mercenaries known as Star Fox, studied the report sent to her by General Pepper. It detailed the possibility of the fractured remnants of a Venomian fleet still operating in the Outer Rim of the Lylat System; Sector X and, of course, Venom to be exact. At first, Fox, and her team especially, were very skeptical about the provided information. But if history has anything to show, very rarely has Pepper ever been wrong. This only slightly reassured fox, but her team still remained skeptical and doubtful. And, they weren't the only ones.

By some strange and rather 'unfortunate' circumstances, the so-called 'Lady O'Donnell' found herself aboard the Great Fox as a 'temporary member' of Star Fox, and Panther Caruso as well. Despite the animosity and hostility present in the new Star Fox, Wolf and Panther proved themselves to be invaluable to all of the assignments Star Fox have done since the two ex-Star Wolf members joined up. Understandably, Falco, Slippy, Krystal, and Katt, still kept their guard up and a watchful eye on the two.

There's nothing out here." Falco sidled up next to Fox, her magenta eyes fixed on the same screen the vixen was studying. Then she turned to her. "I mean, props to the 'Old Man' and all for the other times he gave us 'good info', but there's nothing, and I mean nothing, out in this part of the Lylat System. Except for the X, Y, and Z Sectors, and Venom. And we don't go _anywhere_near there."

A scoff came from behind the two and they turned and faced the one who made the sound. "Like how you 'never' went to Venom's space station to defeat Andross and his 'robo-brain'? Like how you escaped with the supposed help of the late James McCloud?" The lupine rolled her one eye continued on, a thick accent carrying through her words. "Please. If nothing bad had happened there to any o' you then, there certainly won't be anything happening to us now if we go to Sector X or Venom."

Falco glared at her while Wolf sneered back at the blue avian. "Watch it, O'Donnell," Falco said, taking a threatening step forward, her feathered hands balled into fists. "Fox is in charge here, and she can easily kick your ass and Panther's into the airlock before you can say 'Can't let you do that, Star Fox'."

Wolf turned her sneer into a grin and she chuckled. Then she slightly bent her knees to level herself with Falco's eyes. "Don't worry, bird brain. I'll hold ma tongue fo' now. I was just tryin' to prove a point." She straightened up and diverted her attention to Fox and said, "As fo' you, oh fearless leader, it isyour call. Either continue on to the next set o' coordinates and resume the search, or we call it off here and break the 'bad news' to the 'Old Man'." She paused and shrugged with a small smile. "Or good news in this case."

Fox stared at the floor in silent thought for a moment before saying, "R.O.B, contact the Acolyte and the Shadow of Solarus. Tell them we're moving to the next sector and continuing the sweep." She looked at Falco and said, "Get the others prepared for a jump. We leave two minutes." Then she turned to Wolf, but the lupine had her back to her and was walking out of the bridge.

Wolf felt Fox's eyes on her and she waved to her with a gloved hand. "I'm headin' off to catch a few winks, pup. Wake me when we get there, or if something _really_interesting happens. Cheers." With that, the doors closed and she _presumably_went to her quarters.

Fox sighed and shook her head, turning back to the screen she was studying earlier. "What am I going to do with her?"

"You can't do anything," came another voice from behind. This time, only Falco acknowledged their presence visually. Panther Caroso, Wolf's partner-in-crime, sidled up to Fox's left side and leaned against the console. Panther's icy blue eyes stared coolly at Fox and ignored Falco. "Trust me. I've worked with her for the past ten years, and there's no 'doing anything' with or to her. She can't and won't be contained."

"So why did she, and you, join Star Fox?" Falco accused, hands on her hips.

Panther shrugged. "Heck if I know. I guess she needed an additional paycheck or two."

"One minute to jump, Fox," R.O.B. chimed in with his monotonous, robotic tone.

The black pantherine's eyes briefly flicked over to the robot before falling back on Fox and Falco. "Guess I better strap in, huh?" Without another word, and with a two-finger salute, she moved to the back of the bridge and sat down in a single chair, then buckled herself in and prepared for the FTL jump. Falco did likewise after giving Fox a silent nod, to which the vixen responded with a nod of her own.

With everyone on the bridge, and hopefully the rest of the ship, secured and ready, including herself, fox gave the all-clear to R.O.B., who began the countdown:

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...Engaging jump drive."

The ship shuddered violently and the hull groaned almost deafeningly. Fox's vision became distorted as her surroundings twisted and warped from space and time folding and bending around her. Then, as soon as it started, it was over, and Fox was met with a troubling sight:

Five Venomian ships, one of them being the largest she'd ever seen since the Lylat Wars, were parked just on the edge of the Sector X nebulae. Another ship, easily eclipsing all of the ships present, drifted lazily overhead and past the Venomian flotilla. Said flotilla must have spotted the _Great Fox_and the two CDF Dreadnoughts, as not even fifteen seconds had passed before they jumped and disappeared from sight.

Falco and Panther unfastened themselves from their seats and joined Fox and they all shared the same shocked expression together. "What the hell is that?" Falco exclaimed loudly, and almost purposefully, next to Panther's ear, much to the feline's chagrin.

Fox shook her head and was about to say, "I don't know," when R.O.B. beat her to it. "It appears a ship of unknown and alien origin, Miss Lombardi. It does not match anything in our database that I have collected over the years with each of the factions we've fought: Venomian, Aparoid, and Anglar. Also, the materials it is composed of are either very, very rare or nonexistent in the Lylat System."

Panther cursed. "Seriously? Another alien ship? We just got done with the Anglars seven months ago, and now this?!"

R.O.B. spoke up again, ignoring Panther's ranting. "Initial scans show the alien vessel is currently incapacitated."

Recovering from her shock, Fox asked curiously, "How so?"

"Engines are offline," he explained briefly. Then added, "Main power plant is in critical condition. Energy readings show high levels of radiation are slowly building. Three hours before it reaches critical mass and self-destructs."

Fox sighed and shook her head. "Anyone or anything aboard?"

"...Scanning..." R.O.B. remained silent for a solid thirty seconds before finally replying, "Scans show that there is only one life signature."

"Only one?" Falco inquired in disbelief. "On a ship that big? Are you sure, Bobby?"

"Yes, Miss Lombardi." Before the blue avian could let out a squawk of protest, he continued on. "Out of the...approximately 5,739 crew members, passengers, or military personnel, only one is currently alive. But vitals indicate they have an elevated pulse and dangerously-high stress levels. It is only a matter of time before they expire under such conditions. Three hours or less in this case."

"R.O.B., bring everyone up here now. Alert the Acolyte and Solarus_and have them prepare a boarding party. A _big one; we're going to need all the help we can get." Fox turned to Falco and Panther. "When the others get up here, I'm going to contact captains Casey and Damara and General Pepper to coordinate the upcoming operation."

"What kind of operation?" Panther asked with a slight tilt of her head and a hint of concern and worry in her words. Fox placed her hands on her hips and turned back towards the gargantuan ship outside.

"A rescue operation."